News

The Entech Group Inc., a leading energy, engineering and environmental services company in NJ, today announced that a key legislative panel has introduced bill S1925 for consideration. S1925, the focus of intense debate within New Jersey’s solar energy industry, was proposed to stabilize the solar market by paying out increased subsidies to solar panel owners.

Proponents of the bill, including solar energy companies in NJ like The Entech Group, believe that this will help absorb the overabundance of solar renewable energy certificates (SRECS) that have flooded the market since the price per credit came crashing down in June of 2011.

Last summer, New Jersey’s installed solar capacity was more than 380 MW generated from over 10,000 solar arrays statewide. New Jersey was second in the nation in both installed solar capacity and number of installations; only California had more.

Solar Energy Usage in NJ Dropped Significantly

Since then, however, the state’s solar energy usage has plummeted after the price of the solar credits that owners of solar systems earned for the power they produced fell from nearly $600 to less than $100.

Thomas A. Furey, P.E, LSRP and Vice President of The Entech Group is quoted, “Introducing S1925 is a step in the right direction to regain growth in New Jersey’s solar market.” Furey believes that S1925 could help to stabilize the solar energy market in NJ and pave the way for a thriving labor market for the solar installation community.

For more information on how bill S1925 affects residential and commercial solar panel installations, call The Entech Group at 800-571-8661.

Thomas A. Furey, P.E. LSRP, has been invited to present at the 2nd annual NJ Building Energy Reduction Awards. The awards will be handed out during a dinner ceremony on May 23, 2012 in Newark, NJ. Thomas A. Furey is the Vice President of The Entech Group, a leading energy, engineering and environmental services company in New Jersey.

Tom will present about recent environmental changes in NJ as well as review past and present policies and regulations that affect environmental projects in NJ. His presentation will also cover economic and environmental responsibility and how the state’s recent adoption of mandatory Licensing Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) services affects current and future environmental projects.

The energy reduction awards are open to all BOMA members. The award compares the kilowatt hour reduction from 2011 to 2010. To be eligible for the award, a facility had to maintain specific occupancy levels and achieve a minimum ten percent reduction. The applicant had to submit an executed energy reduction plan and prior energy bills.

The Entech Group Inc., in NJ is encouraged by the recent policy changes included in the newly revised New Jersey Energy Master Plan that could revive solar power usage in NJ. New legislation currently being considered could increase the value of Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC’s) so that businesses and homeowners could realize a greater return on their solar investment in a shorter period of time.

Just this past June, New Jersey’s installed solar capacity was more than 380 MW generated from over 10,000 solar arrays statewide. New Jersey was second in the nation in both installed solar capacity and number of installations; only California had more.

NJ Solar Power Systems in NJ Decline After Huge Surge

Since then, however, the installation of NJ solar power systems has plummeted when the price of SREC’s, fell by more than half. SREC stands for Solar Renewable Energy Certificate and is a tradable certificate that represents all the Clean Energy benefits of electricity produced from a solar electric system.

The NJ Senate and Assembly are now considering two new legislations that envision the electric utilities expanding existing programs that help promote solar through long-term contracts with businesses and homeowners

These two new options could increase the price of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates, which have swamped the market since the crash in prices.

Entech is optimistic about the benefits the new legislation could bring to the solar industry. Representatives from Entech said, “Everyone should understand that solar energy is a long term investment, but an increase in the price of SRECS could help certificate owners realize their return much faster, and make the certificates much more valuable.